The latest iteration of Wilson's heralded MAXX loudspeaker edged out the bold and ambitious YG Acoustics Anat Reference to take the prize in this year's most fiercely contested race. And it was fierce: Though the Wilson and YGA were knotted with five first-place votes apiece, the Wilson earned more votes overall, for a convincing victory. "I guess this means the YG Acoustics Anat is not the world's best speaker, after all," declared Sam Tellig with his evil laugh. Heh-heh-heh. Well, not so fast, Sam. The YGA may still be the best loudspeaker in the world for some listeners, but it's clearly not the best for all. Other contenders with first-place nods were the Hansen Audio Prince V2 and Verity Audio Parsifal Ovation, which tied in votes cast, and our surprising third-place finisher, the DeVore Fidelity Gibbon Nine, an excellent all-around performer at an affordable price.

But this is the Wilson's show. The mighty MAXX 3 employs Wilson's Aspherical Group Delay technology, in which the tweeter and one midrange drive-unit are placed in a discrete adjustable cabinet, while the second midrange driver occupies another, separately adjustable cabinet. With its revised driver configuration and crossover network and its supremely dense, nonresonant enclosure, the MAXX 3 offered a mesmerizing, top-to-bottom wholeness that had Mikey Fremer fluttering with joy. John Atkinson and I, swept away by the speaker's effortless power and grace, felt the MAXX 3 produced the best sound we'd ever heard in Mikey's room. Mikey agreed, and the MAXX 3s won't be leaving his room anytime soon. He bought them.